Nordost
Silver Shadow (Digital)
Speaker Cables

Product Description

Silver Shadow is the state of the art, high performance digital interconnect from Nordost offering higher resolution and more detail with lower losses than any other digital cable currently on the market. Designed for use between high quality CD transports and DACs, Silver Shadow significantly reduces jitter and timing errors. Silver Shadow utilizes our proprietary Micro Mono-Filament technology, reducing insulation contact by at least 80%, consequently lowering the dielectric constant to an unbelievably low 1.38 (The perfect dielectric - Air = 1).

Where do I start? Ok, this digital coax cable lists for $499, but I'm a bottom feeder and would never pay that much for a skinny little cable. That's more than the Preamp, DAC or CD player cost me! Well, I happenned across a store demo (mint condition, not even broken in yet) for $200. I was demoing the Nordost Moonglo at the time, was very impressed, but it cost $200 new, so I couldn't pass this deal up, even though I hadn't heard the Silver Shadow. I don't typically take $200 chances, but this one paid off. The seller said it wasn't broken in, so I wasn't expecting much out of the box. Initially the high end was rolled off, allot, and the soundstage seemed set back farther in the room. So I spent 3 days questioning my purchase. Suddenly things seemed to change, after a couple 10 hour days of break-in. The highs became extended and airy, the soundstage widened, the bass tightened (it was a bit heavy initially), and ev erything sounded right, voices were natural, not nasaly or tinny, just real. Everything sounded right, real, true, live. The speakers disapeared and my room seemed to be filled with musicians. I can't really explain it any other way. The soundstage is balanced, front to back, unlike the other cables I tried that exagerated certain frequencies, pushing the singer into your lap, or the saxaphone next to your head. The MIT cables I used to use were awfull, placing the music about 12 feet back, and the singer at my feet, or a male vocalist singing ten feet back while his acoustic guitar floated 3 feet in front of me....that's not imaging, that's a mistake. MIT cables are not made for tube gear, plain and simple. Anyway, back to the Silver Shadow. It does everything right, but it will reveal the weakest link in your system very quickly. So now I'm buying a new CD/SACD player. If you can pick this cable up for $250 or less, don't pass it up.

i found improvemenrs in sound soon as i plugged this cable between the cd player and the dac.ive only bene usign it for 5 days now but the change in sound is very good - all the instruments sound more natural ,here is air around them , notes decay well - piano sounds fabulous . there is no harshness in the sound at all -

laid back ( not slow ) and not in the face.I can easily listen to the music for hrs without getttign tired of it.

I paired it up with van del Hul the first caryign the analog signal from the dac to the preamp.Im yet to plug in van del hul the first Metal between the preamo and amp - as the amp is a vavle amp , the First causes hum - which is what i was advised by the hifi dealer as well.

In my opinion this is the finest digital interconnect presently available.(Balanced AES/EBU). A superlative product.This cable proves that there is more to digital interconnects than merely tranporting 0's & 1's.If you get a chance try this cable, you will be very pleasantly surprised.

If you are in the market for upgrading your digital cable within your system,you owe it to yourself to try an audition of the latest gem to come fromthe minds of Nordost, "Silver Shadow" digital cable (RCA and AES/EBU)...

1) The improvement in imaging is extraordinary. All frequencies were portrayed with complete "coherence" with image size remaining constant thru extreme dynamic swings. There was a wonderful completeness to the imaging where the image was not "spotlighted" but was naturally defined with excellent air around the instruments within the soundstage. There was a definite improvement in the body (or 3D prespective) of the imaging all of which gave a great smile to my face. My Nordost Silver Digital Moonglo cable (on A/B comparisons) had a tendency to change image size on large dynamic swings and definitly presented a more "difuse" character to the image.

2) Inner detail to the music/note was again improved on with the Silver Shadow over my Silver Digital Moonglo cable. Definite improvements in harmonics, overtone rendition, natural note decay, acoustic recording room information retrieval was easily noted. *** All of this detail was presented with absolutely no aggression and listening fatigue. There was a definite "easiness" to the sound that was very similar to my experiences with the presentation of I2S Digital interfaces.

3) Improvements in soundstaging were again easily preceived with the Silver Shadow inserted into the chain. To my ears, the entire soundstage presentation gained a bit more of a "laid back" prespective (which I always welcome very much). I could easily hear more information retrieval, further back within the soundstage, with a most natural perspective. Imaging was more solid within the deep cornors of a well recorded CD than I ever heard before on my system.

4) The Silver Shadow is extremely neutral in its presentation with no emphasis in any frequency range. My old Silver Digital Moonglo has been considered a little "lean" by some individuals. After listening to the Silver Shadow, I hear no more leaness at all in the "sonic landscape". There is a warmth and body to the music without coloration. Everything has been improved upon considerably with the Silver Shadow inserted into the chain.

Very little information has been published on the Silver Shadow, I belive thatthis cable is an offshoot of Nordosts own Reference series "Quattro fil".Actually, the Silver Shadow gave me the same improvements as Quattro fil, whenI inserted the Quattro fil into the system chain. As you know, there is aneed for synergy in components to bring the best out of our systems. TheNordost Silver Shadow Digital cable (albeit expen$ive) is a product that wheninserted into a balanced system will bring out the best in your equiptment.

Finally, as I found out again, when you can improve on the front end components,the entire enjoyment to our music is improved upon considerable. This is justthe case for this wonderful little digital cable from Nordost....